Bruce Boudreau deems $92,000,000 Toronto Maple Leafs forward and Alex Ovechkin's Washington Capitals worthy of being on NHL's nice list for Christmas

The Toronto Maple Leafs and the Washington Capitals are getting singled out for praise by former NHL bench boss Bruce Boudreau, who has included them in his own "nice list".

Boudreau, who serves as an analyst for TSN hockey and most recently coached the Vancouver Canucks in 2022, first praised Maple Leafs forward William Nylander for his performance in the first season of his lengthy contract extension that he signed last year.

"You got to start with William Nylander," Boudreau said on Tuesday, via TSN. "Look at what he's done for the Leafs. And you know what? Every time he scores, he smiles. It's pretty cool. And with all the Leafs injuries this year, whether it's Auston Matthews or anybody else, and they've had a lot of them, he's been the bright shine, bright, shiny light, and he's kept them where they are."

Boudreau then pointed to the strong record of the Capitals, who he once coached earlier in his career. Specifically, Boudreau talked about how Washington has been able to fend for themselves without captain Alex Ovechkin, who was scoring at his old vintage pace.

"So William Nylander is No. 1 for me, No. 2 on the 'nice list' has got to be the Washington Capitals, and they're doing this without their leading goal scorer back in the lineup," Boudreau said. "So I mean, I got to give Washington Capitals and their staff and everybody else great kudos for being where they are."

Maple Leafs forward William Nylander and the Washington Capitals have enjoyed impressive seasons

William Nylander has stepped up in a major way in the absence of first-year captain Auston Matthews, who inherited the captaincy from John Tavares during the offseason.

Playing in the first season of an eight-year $92 million deal, Nylander is already up to 23 goals with 17 assists and on pace for 54 goals, which would mark a new career high.

Meanwhile, the Capitals have silenced all preseason critics that they were about to enter a difficult rebuilding phase and that Ovechkin was finally done thanks to Father Time.

Before Ovechkin's leg injury, he was a serious threat to break Wayne Gretzky's all-time scoring record of 894 career goals. He is just 27 goals away from setting the NHL record and he is nearing a return.

At 23-9-2, the Capitals are second in the Metropolitan Division, only a single point behind the New Jersey Devils.